The second arc in the canon Sword Art Online series that covers the events during Kirito's adventures in ALfheim Online, spanning between January 19 and May 17, 2025, which corresponds to the novel volumes 3 and 4, or the latter half of the anime's first season.

Volume 3

Two months after the SAO incident, as Kazuto rehabilitates his body well enough to spar with Suguha, 300 people, including Asuna, remain comatose for unknown reasons. Kirigaya Kazuto visits Asuna in the hospital often. During one of such visits, Asuna's father brings Sugou Nobuyuki into the room and leaves. Nobuyuki says he is in charge of RCT Progress, the company who has taken over the SAO servers after the demise of Argus. He unexpectedly gloats at Kazuto, calling him Kirito in jest, and touches Asuna, saying he will marry her in a week in a marriage of convenience. Kazuto is depressed, and his sister and cousin consoles him, although they have not talked much for years before that.

The next day, Kazuto receives a message from Andrew Gilbert Mills (Agil) with a strange blurred picture of Asuna trapped in a bird cage. He finds out the picture was taken in-game of the final quest area in the flying fairy-simulation VRMMORPG ALO, which is sold by RCT Progress. Kazuto must see it for himself. He transfers his SAO account and logs in, picking a Spriggan as the race that wears black, then revives Yui as a Navigation Pixie and meets and defends Leafa from an attack by Salamanders, who then takes him to the Sylph city and offers to take Kirito to the World Tree for the final quest. Then we learn Leafa is really Suguha, and her friend Recon is a classmate.

Asuna has spent two months in the cage, having daily visits from Fairy King Oberon, who is of course the avatar of Nobuyuki. He comes again, saying he met Kirito and told him off. He also mentions *ALO'*s whole purpose was performing human experiments on the 300 people trapped within, earlier rerouted to the ALO servers, in order to influence their thoughts and emotions and get military funding. Oberon leaves using a keypad lock that obstructs Asuna's view of it. Asuna hopes Kazuto saves her.

Meanwhile, Kirito and Leafa buy him better gear and go to the Tower of Wind to optimize their limited flight time. Leafa's party leader Sigurd appears, somehow certain Leafa is leashed to his party night and day. Sigurd leaves, tracked by Recon who suspects him of wrongdoings.

Kirito and Leafa face twelve Salamanders who were ambushing them in a mountain tunnel Legrue Corridor, and defeat them, bribing the last one. With his information and, later, an IRL call from Recon, they learn of a betrayal and conspiracy to turn the Sylphs and Cait Siths' alliance talks into a war with a Salamander attack force, and rush to help.

They find a sky full of Salamander fighters, and Kirito barges in saying he is an envoy of the Spriggan-Undine alliance. The Salamander commander duels Kirito to see if he is worth his salt, and Kirito wins with creativity. Moreover, the earlier bribe "shoots" as the bribed guy brings the forged "news" of the alliance. The peace is secured, Kirito even funding the alliance with his huge personal cash bag, and the actual envoys — girls — each want Kirito in her team, making Leafa jealous.

Meanwhile, Asuna manages to peek on the code, and escapes the cage.

Volume 4

On their way to Alne, Kirito and Leafa are caught up in a large one-time event in the underground Jötunheimr and cannot fly, and continue with the quest despite being tired and sleepy, traversing snowscapes and riding a large floating creature, helping it beat its enemy. The monster helps them back later and gives them a look of the strongest in-game sword. They make a mental note, find an exit, and continue.

Asuna traverses the top of the World Tree and finds the secret laboratory with the mind-experimenting monsters that are the immoral scientists' avatars. She tries going for a console to log out, but they notice and stop her at the last second, returning her to her cage. She manages to steal a keycard from them.

Continued on page 2

References

• Fairy Dance Arc - Fan Wiki
• Volume 3 - Fan Wiki
• Volume 4 - Fan Wiki